Wreck the Halls by Tessa Bailey

#1 New York Times bestselling author Tessa Bailey delivers a sexy, hilarious standalone holiday rom-com about the adult children of two former rock stars who team up to convince their estranged mothers to play a Christmas Eve concert... Melody Gallard may be the daughter of music royalty, but her world is far from glamorous. She spends her days restoring old books and avoiding the limelight (one awkward tabloid photo was enough, thanks). But when a producer offers her a lot of money to reunite her mother's band on live tv, Mel begins to wonder if it's time to rattle the cage, shake up her quiet life... and see him again. The only other person who could wrangle the rock and roll divas. Beat Dawkins, the lead singer's son, is Melody's opposite--the camera loves him, he could charm the pants off anyone, and his mom is not a potential cult leader. Still, they might have been best friends if not for the legendary feud that broke up the band. When they met as teenagers, Mel felt an instant spark, but it's nothing compared to the wild, intense attraction that builds as they embark on a madcap mission to convince their mothers to perform one last show. While dealing with rock star shenanigans, a 24-hour film crew, brawling Santas, and mobs of adoring fans, Mel starts to step out of her comfort zone. With Beat by her side, cheering her on, she's never felt so understood. But Christmas Eve is fast approaching, and a decades-old scandal is poised to wreck everything--the Steel Birds reunion, their relationships with their mothers, and their newfound love.

He likes edging because he was bullied at summer camp! nice.

This book was just what I needed after a November of somber reads. A Holiday Read I grabbed off the end cap at Target- and it was such fun. Not my usual fare in any way shape or form- imagine a steamy Hallmark Movie in book form with two famous moms thrown in for comic relief and star power. I liked the ingenuity of this story line- the children of a famous female rock duo attempting to reunite their mothers- CLEVER PLOT. Then add in two main characters both likable with their own interesting internal narratives and now we have a STORY!

This was my first Tessa Bailey so I was not prepared for her steamy sex scenes- so ya know- here's your heads on that front. The female lead- Melody is particularly well written and has some great, funny dialogue and one-liners. And again -the aging rock moms are cool too- solid snappy dialogue between them. The reality tv-streaming show concept worked well here -probably because unlike other similar plot lines it wasn't scripted or edited. It didn't get in the way of the story.

If you enjoy second chance romances, set during the Holidays this one is for you. And of course, you can't beat the NYC setting at Christmas.

Wreck the Halls is my local book club's pick for this month. If it hadn't been, I probably would not have read it, as I remember glancing at the blurb on the back when the book came out and not being interested enough in the story to buy it.

The book is about the adult children of a famous rock duo that split up decades ago. A reality TV producer conscripts them into convincing their mothers to agree to a Christmas Eve reunion performance with the promise of a good chunk of money for each of them if they succeed. Enter the internal and external antagonists that exist for subplot purposes and you have an entirely predictable, lighthearted, yet too-spicy-for-Hallmark romance.

Personally, I felt like the book alternated between being amusing and being a little too easy to put down. Though the characters were decently developed (though not without their inconsistencies), I found myself rolling my eyes at them at times, and the plot left me feeling bored more than once. There were a few scenes that came across as utterly ridiculous or unrealistic, and that left me feeling like the story itself wasn't believable. If I hadn't wanted to finish reading it before my book club meeting tomorrow, I likely would have DNF'd the book.

Overall, it just ended up not being a good fit for me. As my first Tessa Bailey book, it didn't leave me wanting to try any of her others.

Typos / editing errors: multiple
Language: heavy (79 uses of the f-word / its variations; 230+ uses of other obscenities)
Spice: explicit

DNF at 50%. I'm gonna mark it as read cause I spent half a day on this. I was okay with it up until the two leads started getting sexual. It's very Insta-lust. Now every single chapter has something sexual happening and I just... don't care. I guess I prefer clean romances.